No Guarantees

In a CBS interview airing tonight, President says he “cannot guarantee” that Social Security, other checks “go out on August 3rd … Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.”

And: T-Paw calls on President to “stop trying to scare Americans into agreeing to higher taxes and spending.”

Courtesy CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley

SCOTT PELLEY: “Can you tell the folks at home that the Social Security checks are going to go out on August the 3rd. There are about $20 billion worth of Social Security checks that have to go out the day after the government is supposedly going to go into default.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Well this is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans’ checks; these are folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out.”

PELLEY: “Can you guarantee as President those checks will go out on August the 3rd?”

OBAMA: “I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd, if we haven’t resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.”

Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Statement on President Obama’s CBS Interview

“Mr. President, stop trying to scare Americans into agreeing to higher taxes and spending. With our economy on the ropes and unemployment growing, it is unconscionable that President Obama would be proposing higher taxes and more spending, but not surprising coming from the same man who gave us the failed stimulus and ObamaCare. I would use the debt limit as a moment to stop out-of-control government, and force real spending cuts and balance the budget.”